Until recently, the cathode ray tube ("CRT") has been the display device of choice for displaying information. While having sufficient display characteristics with respect to color, brightness, contrast, and resolution, CRTs are relatively bulky and power inefficient. In view of the advent of portable laptop computers, the demand for a feasible display technology which is lightweight, reliable, compact, and power efficient is growing.
Within the automotive industry, an examination has recently begun as to human factors generally, and more particularly, the use of technology in everyday life. One such example is in the area of displaying icons in the form of information gauges on the instrument panel of the automobile. Presently, icons display information only upon the occurrence of a particular condition. Such display systems are realized by one of several approaches, including vacuum fluorescent and liquid crystal display technology, as well as custom icon design systems illuminated by a traditional light bulb, for example.
The known icon display art has several disadvantages. Vacuum fluorescent systems offer substantially low resolution, while liquid crystal displays ("LCDs") do not properly function within the operating temperature range of automobiles. Further, these known systems are also bulky. Custom icon design systems for automotive applications moreover offer only a single color. These known display systems cannot properly be placed directly within a windshield, as vacuum fluorescent display systems lack the requisite transparency and LCDs lack a sufficiently wide enough operating temperature range.
In view of these concerns, industry requires a flat panel icon display system which offers high resolution, and which is space efficient. Further, a demand exists for a flat panel icon display system which can project onto a windshield, or in the alternative, be placed within a windshield directly.